PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-712
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 712
MARCH 2012
50
PS 712
MAR 12
M
oisture is the silent enemy of your riFes, pistols and machine guns. While you
think your weapon is safely tucked away in the arms room or in a transport ship or
plane, moisture can feed the corrosion that eats away at the weapon’s metal. When
you get ready for action again, you may ±nd that the barrel or bolt has been ruined.
But there are several ways you can dry up the moisture threat.
Prepare for travel.
If your weapon is
traveling from SWA back to your home
base, it may be going from extreme heat
and low humidity to either a plane where
the temperature will be cold or to a ship
that will go through lots of salty sea air.
And, if the weapon’s ±nal destination is
someplace like ²t Polk or Stewart, it will
face very high humidity there.
To protect your weapon against all the
moisture produced by temperature changes
and humidity, you at least need to clean
and thoroughly lube it like the -10 TM
prescribes. The best protection for travel,
though, is to also use vapor corrosion
inhibitor wrap, NSN 8135-00-664-0015.
PS
had an article in
PS
660 (Nov 07) on
the best ways to prepare weapons for shipment. Access it at:
If you don’t prepare your weapon for overseas travel, count on its being ruined
by corrosion by the time it arrives. Some posts report receiving weapons back from
SWA with absolutely no lube and thus defenseless against moisture.
Fight
humidity
in
the
arms
room.
Places
like
Stewart
or
Polk
are
very
humid and many other Army
posts have to deal with some
humidity. The very best way
to ±ght humidity is with a
dehumidi±er that has a 15-
pint capacity.
But for larger arms rooms
or
very
humid
environments,
you
probably need a dehumidi±er that has a
30- to 60-pint capacity. Most large home
supply outlets have a large selection of
dehumidi±ers.
Dehumidi±ers lose their effectiveness
above 95°², so arms rooms should be
kept below that temperature if possible.
Always position a dehumidi±er on the
Foor, since that’s where moisture settles.
Air circulation ±ghts humidity, so running
a fan in the arms room is a good idea, too.
A dehumidi±er won’t
do much good if you don’t
empty it. In very humid
environments,
you
may
need to do that every day.
And if you’re going to
be gone for several days,
you need to make sure
someone else empties it.
Prepare for storage.
Armorers should
not accept any weapon for storage in the
arms room that hasn’t been cleaned and
lubed.
Don’t leave barrel caps on riFes. They
trap moisture in the barrel.
Weapon TMs say you can store weapons
for up to 90 days without cleaning or
lubing them. But you still need to check
all the weapons in arms room for signs of
corrosion at least monthly, especially in
humid areas. If you wait three months to
check, it could be too late.
I’m
ready
for my
trip!
before you
embark on your
trip, I think we
need to give you
a little lubing.
hey, will
somebody
empty
me!
I don’t
care if
90 days
aren’t up.
we’ve got
corrosion and we
need
cleaning
and
lubing!
I’m
about to
burst!
gosh,
the
humidity
in here is
terrible.
I wish our
armorer
would give
us a break
and get a
dehumidifier.
Dry Up Moisture Threat!
Small
Arms…
this arms
room is too
big
for me!
they
need one
of my big
brothers!
712 50-51.indd
1-2
1/23/12
4:58 PM
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